Falcons Rookie LB Kendal Daniels Carted Off Against Bears

There are bad signs on a football field, and then there is the medical cart making a slow, ominous crawl onto the turf.

ESPN beat reporter Marc Raimondi delivered the grim update on Sunday, noting that the cart came out for Atlanta Falcons rookie linebacker Kendal Daniels.

"The cart is coming out for Daniels. #Falcons"

Getting loaded onto the cart is the universal sign that a player's afternoon is over, and it usually implies a much longer absence. For a Falcons defense already getting cooked 21-7 by the Chicago Bears, losing a young defensive piece is the exact opposite of a productive second-half adjustment.

Daniels came into this game with 16 solo tackles and a sack on his rookie resume. He was already battling through the week, popping up as a limited participant on Thursday's injury report. Now, a roster that was already stretched thin with offensive weapons like Darnell Mooney and Ray-Ray McCloud III sitting out inactive has to patch a sudden hole in the middle of the defense.

When a defense loses a linebacker to the cart, live bettors immediately start looking at the opposing running backs and tight ends. Chicago is already moving the ball at will, and Atlanta's defensive front just lost a set of fresh legs that they desperately needed to stop the bleeding.

The Falcons will have to dig into the bottom of the depth chart to survive the rest of this matchup. As for Daniels, expect the standard somber postgame coach speak followed by a Monday MRI that will dictate just how long Atlanta has to shuffle its defensive rotation.